h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"I think the 'real' ones are supposed to be all dead, since 'Silver Nemesis'. You know, like the Daleks were all dead after 'Remembrance'. I'm looking forward to the Upgrade from Lumic Cybusmen to Mondas Cybermen."

I don't know if there's any truth in this, but I've heard RTD isn't a fan of the cybermen. This would explain why he was so happy to "reset" their origins in a parallel-universe and ensured their easy defeat by the daleks in "Doomsday". It also looks like they're not coming back. If we need to fit that into the Who mythology, then the original Cybermen were defeated by Doc No7 in "Silver Nemesis" and the parallel-world "reborn" cybermen have now been defeated by Doc No.10.

Shame, as a famous Brigadier once said.

If the original cybermen are your thing, you could do a lot worse than check out the BF Audio 'Spare Parts'. 5th Doc and Nyssa, post Earthshock. Very good stuff indeed.

Maybe the new Daleks had some of Monty Python's "Spiny Norman" in them, after all his greatest weapon was sarcasm!

Sorry no, it was Doug Pirhana (who had bizare fear of spiny norman) "He used... sarcasm. He knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. He was vicious." Maybe that was the name of the black dalek!

Of course, there is a link between Python and Who, in the form of Douglas Adams. And as a heads-up, Shada is being broadcast on BBC7, Sundays.

I may be really, really stupid for asking this, but...

What does it matter if all the cyber-men have been killed off? The Doctor is a time-traveller, and thus could encounter them at some point before he defeated them, surely?

They should bring back THE MASTER for the next series. Please post your suggestions of who should play him.





My own :


Waitforitwaitforityou'orriblelittleman....







Alan Rickman.

Dan Corbett, the weird borderline-creepy BBC weatherman.

Can he act, though?

Unless he already KNOWS it is going to rain when he forcasts sun, and he is acting very well for his own evil devices...

Julian Clarey.

Maybe not.

I think bringing the Master back is a really bad idea. I mean, he's been shot, stabbed, exterminated, bent, folded, spindled and swallowed by the Tardis. If he comes back after all that we should forget Doctor Who and give him his own series (either revive 'Now Get Out of That' or a live action Captain Scarlet).

But if he's coming back, I have two suggestions.

1: Cast an actor with no history of playing villains. Pick someone who knows how to play a sympathetic character, or at least make a character appealing and sympathetic.

And no, absolutely no, not even ever not slightly any goatee.

Why? Because the Master went from being a capable, intelligent, interesting foil to the Doctor to being a foaming psychopath (as played by Eric Roberts). If you want foaming psychopaths, we have Daleks. Let's have a return to the Master as a fully paid-up Time Lord gone bad. MUCH more interesting.

2: Cast Mark Gatiss.

Why? Because if you've seen him act you'll know he's more than capable of bringing something special to the role. Some style, some substance and some genuine, actual, could-this-guy-be-completely-unhinged? menace. The character could do with that.

Have you been watching Funland perchance? He was great in that.

Anthony Head would be great as the Master, not in the Evil Headmaster way but in a Giles-With-Menaces way

Nope, Roymondo, not seen it.

When I was last in the UK, however, I caught a program on the making of 'League of Gentlemen'. The cast were discussing location filming and the occasional gripes of the locals. Gatiss suddenly goes from a cheerful disposition into withering sarcasm and apparent anger in the space of a second, then right back to charming. That was what made me think of him as a good choice for The Master.

Aha. He is rather good. He played a gay scandinavian taxidermist in Funland with a decidedly creepy edge.

" Let's have a return to the Master as a fully paid-up Time Lord gone bad. MUCH more interesting."

Hell yes. THat would be ace!

We could always have a Mistress instead. Dressed in leather.

Anne Robinson?

Maybe one of the Doctor's assistants could be an "Anakin Skywalker" style Master.